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Asians in Minnesota Oral History Project Minnesota Historical Society

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Asians in Minnesota Oral History Project Minnesota Historical Society Dr. Sung Won Sohn Narrator Sarah Mason Interviewer December 19, 1979 Minneapolis, Minnesota Sarah Mason -SM Dr. Sung Won Sohn -SS SM: I’m talking to Dr. Sung Won Sohn in Minneapolis, Minnesota on December 19, 1979. He’s the senior vice president and chief economist for Northwestern National BankProject in Minneapolis. This is an interview conducted under the auspices of the Minnesota Historical Society and the interviewer is Sarah Mason. Dr. Sohn, if we could just begin with your background and your family in Korea and how you happened to come to the United States and Minnesota. History Society SS: Well, I was one of six children. And my father was a banker. And, well, the reason why I decided to come to the U.S. is because of two reasons.Oral Number one, Korea is a fairly small country. Consequently, opportunities are somewhat limited no matter what area it is. So I was looking for somewhat broader opportunities elsewhere. And number two, there was and still is an American presence, a lot of Americans, so I made American friends and so to me it was natural for me to come to America. Historical SM: Oh, yes. SS: The other element was theMinnesota financial support. I was able to get some financial support from the University of Florida.in SM: I see. Minnesota SS: Coming from Korea in those days, it was very hard to get American dollars even if you had Korean money.Asians SM: Oh. SS: So financial support was very important. So conditions were right for me to come here at the time. SM: Yes. What year was that that you came? 1 SS: 1962. SM: 1962, I see. So what was the situation in Korea then with the aftermath of the Korean War. It was still quite a big [unclear]? SS: No, by then the Korean War ended in the early 1950s. SM: Yes. SS: So that . still, obviously, the country did not recover completely from the Korean War, but by then things were pretty much back to normal. SM: Yes. But you had finished your education then when you came? SS: I finished high school. Project SM: Oh, the University of Florida. SS: High school in Korea and then came directly to the University of Florida. History SM: I see. So you spent four years there or more or . .? Society SS: Yes, about four years at the University of Florida.Oral SM: Yes. I see. What were some of your impressions when you first came to the United States as a young man? SS: Oh, very confused. Historical SM: [Chuckles] Minnesota SS: And to some extentin scared because . I couldn’t communicate very well and I wasn’t familiar with the culture, including food. SM: Yes. Minnesota SS: And AsiansI’m sure if I had a plane ticket, I would have gone back home. SM: [Chuckles] SS: Because of the change. I mean, any change causes stress. SM: Yes. Right. 2 SS: And that to me was a big stress, a very big change, and I suppose I won’t ever see another big change in my life like that. SM: Yes. Well, was that a period of five or six months in which the stress was the greatest or was the whole first year rather difficult or . .? SS: Well, probably the first couple of years. SM: Yes. SS: Especially from the language point of view. It took a couple of years before I was comfortable. SM: I see. Well, did you . you had studied English somewhat in Korea? Project SS: Yes. I did the . in Korea all high school students are required to take English, but the problem is they don’t teach any conversation at all. SM: Oh, so it’s reading . History SS: So yes, mainly reading and so . conversation was somethingSociety very new to me. SM: Yes. Which part of Korea are you from? Oral SS: My hometown is a place called Kwang Ju. K-W-A-N-G, J-U. It’s the Southwestern part of South Korea. SM: I see. Yes. I see. And were you among theHistorical older children or the younger children of your family? SS: I was second from the bottom.Minnesota in SM: Second from the bottom. SS: Of the six children. Minnesota SM: Yes.Asians Have any other of your siblings come over? SS: Yes. My younger brother, he’s in Tennessee, the University of . well, he graduated from the University of Tennessee. SM: I see. SS: Yes, he’s an architect. 3 SM: Oh. Yes. And he works in Tennessee still? SS: Yes. SM: Yes, I see. Well, how did you move from Florida to Minnesota? Were there other stops in between? SS: Oh, yes, lots of stops. SM: [Chuckles] SS: First, I went to Wayne State University in Detroit. SM: I see. That was for graduate study or . .? Project SS: For my master’s degree. SM: I see. SS: And then I went to the University of Pittsburgh for myHistory doctorate. Society SM: And that was in economics, I suppose? Oral SS: Yes. And then I went to a place called Slippery Rock State College in Pennsylvania to teach for a while. SM: Oh, I see. Which years were they? In the 1970s? Historical SS: Oh, that was . 1969 to 1973. SM: I see. So you were thereMinnesota about four years. in SS: Yes. And then I went to Washington, D.C. to work for the U.S. government. SM: I see. Was that in an Minnesotaadvisory capacity or what was your job there? SS: Yes,Asians I was a senior economist for the President’s Council of Economic Advisors. SM: I see. SS: Maybe I ought to get you a copy of my resume and that then would spell out all these things here. 4 SM: Yes, I think that would be very helpful. Yes. I see. And so how did that come about? Was there a particular reason they chose you for this position? Besides your ability [chuckles] are there any other reasons? SS: Well, obviously, my main attraction of coming here was even before I knew about this bank, I wanted to come to the Midwest because at the time I already had two small children. SM: Oh. SS: And I was looking for a place to raise my children. SM: Yes. SS: And I didn’t want to go to large urban centers like Chicago, Washington, D.C., New York City, you know, Los Angeles. Project SM: I see. SS: So I wanted to come to the Midwest. History SM: Yes. Society SS: And, you know, this job came along. Oral SM: I see. This job was offered to you while you were in Washington then? SS: Yes. Historical SM: I see. Could you spell out a little more about what it is in the Midwest that . I’ve heard other Koreans say they preferred to bring up their families here. And I suppose partly it’s the smaller urban area, but if youMinnesota could spell that out a little bit, it would help. in SS: Well, first, I think that, you know, the people are much nicer. SM: Yes. And is this a regionalMinnesota or a state . was it Minnesota in particular, or Wisconsin, the whole upper Midwest region? Asians SS: I think the whole upper Midwest region is like that, too. SM: Yes. SS: [Unclear] to a foreigner, foreign in the sense that, you know, not only being from Korea but from other parts of the country. SM: Yes. 5 SS: You know, the kind of people that you have to deal with, that’s very important. SM: Yes. So do you feel that the reception of foreigners is somewhat more open here? Minnesota is known to be a state of immigrants. SS: Yes. Well, I mean, for that matter, you know, it’s true for any other state. SM: Yes. [Chuckles] They’re all . yes. Somehow there seems to be quite a lot of consciousness of that here in Minnesota. The Scandinavians and . it isn’t too far back. [Chuckles] SS: Well, you know, I think that Minnesota is more . much more stable in terms of population because I know most of the people, they were essentially born and raised here. Project SM: Yes. SS: Whereas if you go to Washington, D.C., for instance, you know, almost nobody’s from Washington, D.C. History SM: That’s true. Society SS: People are constantly moving. It’s a very transientOral area. SM: Yes. Yes. So its stability would offer something that . and a kind of environment you would like for your children or was it also the kind of environment congenial to someone coming from another country? Historical SS: Both, I think. You know the stability and congeniality and . if I may put it this way, more of a conservative atmosphere. Minnesota SM: Yes. in SS: Whether it is in education or the way people dress. And less crime. Minnesota SM: Yes. Asians SS: Fewer traffic jams. SM: [Chuckles] That’s a big help. SS: And less pollution. SM: Many Asian immigrants that I’ve talked with about—I’ve also interviewed Chinese and Filipino in addition to Koreans—have expressed quite a bit of concern about bringing up 6 children in the American environment. And do you see this as a little bit less problematic in terms of drugs and the problems of bringing up children in this society? SS: Yes, that . that certain was an important factor. SM: Yes. SS: That’s what I meant by more of a conservative atmosphere.
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